


Reality is Quite Nice

by Miraphina Atherton (mew_tsubaki)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Age Difference, F/M, Older Characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2019-04-24 08:28:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14351724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mew_tsubaki/pseuds/Miraphina%20Atherton
Summary: Now an adult, Scorpius catches up with his mates, the Scamander twins, and their parents. The Scamanders are all his friends...but he can't help the feeling something's amiss...





	Reality is Quite Nice

**Author's Note:**

> The Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling, not to me. Read, review, and enjoy!

> _"You are incredible…my only one…I never thought love…could be passionate fun."—Unknown_

If Luna were clinically insane, would anyone be able to tell?

I can, which is why _I'm_ the one by her side, not Rolf.

Allow me to explain. Girls like Rose and Lily aren't for me. I'm far too levelheaded and poised for the likes of Rose's brainy and OCD ways and Lily's rash and sporadically berserk personality. I am best-suited for the…how should I say…er, _zany_ type. I just didn't realize it until I was an adult.

My friends, twins Lorcan and Lysander, had invited me over to dinner a few years after our having completed Hogwarts. Lorcan traveled with their parents as a training Healer, Lysander was Hagrid's assistant and apprentice for the Care of Magical Creatures class, and I was training to be an Auror with my best mate, Al. I hadn't seen the Scamander twins in a while, so it was nice to catch up.

"Beware," Lorcan warned me as we entered their home. "Last I knew, _both_ Mum and Dad were cooking. I hope you still have that stomach of steel, Scor."

I frowned. "I'd hope so, too. Now that you're _dating_ Roxanne, I have this horrible feeling she'll try to pull a prank on Sander or me just to see if George's new Wheeze works."

Lorcan grinned. "Now, would I let that happen to you two…?"

"Yes," Lysander and I spat in unison.

Lorcan took our jackets, and we headed into the dining room. I took in the room in one glance and saw that nothing had changed—mismatched furniture, carpet too bright a violet, wallpaper mixed together in stripes and dots and patters and such. That made me smile. I'd seen a lot of my school friends' homes, and so much was different now that we were older. But the Scamanders were the Scamanders, and that was something that felt good because it was sturdy, reliable. As reliable as Rolf's warm handshake and Luna's sweet smile. Speak of the Nargles, they entered.

Wait—was it just me, or did Luna's smile seem off?

I chocked it up to a trick of the dining room's dim lighting as pleasantries were presented and we sat down and started the meal. It wasn't as disastrous as Lorc had led me to believe; in fact, it was quite delicious. We had a roast pheasant that we washed down with a butterbeer and firewhiskey concoction of Rolf's, and, for dessert, Luna presented us with a cake that—

"— _glows_?" Lysander asked in astonishment. "Why's it glowing light _blue_ , Mum?"

Luna waved her younger son off as if it were nothing. "Oh, I just made friends with the faeries in the backyard. I admired their light shows, and they told me it was due to their faerie dust. I was delighted, and they allowed me some faerie dust, which I thought would be nice to brush on the cake."

" _Faerie dust_?" he further exclaimed as Rolf gaped at her, Lorcan sighed and held his head, and I looked around the table, wondering what the problem was. Luckily, Sander felt his mother needed a recap, too. "Why do you think the faire folke are so happy all the time? Faerie dust is intoxicating. It makes them see the world in—in bizarre ways!"

After his outburst, the house was abnormally quiet. I heard the chirp of the crickets outside and suddenly wished I were outside, as well. This was _such_ an awkward moment.

Rolf broke the quiet. "I…think I've had enough to eat," he said, dropping his eyes to the table as he stood. "Goodnight, boys. Good to see you again, Scorpius," he said to me with a forced smile.

The twins shifted awkwardly in their seats before Lysander rose and went up to bed. Lorcan got up, too, but he followed behind his father. I lagged to help Luna clean up.

In the kitchen, it was unusually quiet. Luna was smiling again, but…it still seemed off. I felt as though she were wearing a mask, which just wasn't meant for her. Luna was supposed to be vivacious and brilliant, not taciturn and housewife-ish.

"Thank you," she said sweetly as I passed her the last dish. She waved her wand, and the cleaning supplies set about scrubbing the plates. The cake sat on the counter behind her, an uneasy reminder of the earlier awkwardness.

"Luna…," I began hesitantly. She waved her wand to put away the table settings, but I gently took her wand out of her hand and held it at my side. It was a bit strange, and I'd never been so forward with the twins' parents. But I did know this family well, and I was comfortable enough to speak my mind in this house. "Are you all right?"

The witch gave me a genuine smile this time, though it was small and slightly sad. "I'm afraid no one sees…eye to eye anymore with me."

"What do you mean?"

Luna sighed and swept her hair to one side. I caught a whiff of her shampoo—gardenias, which I thought instinctively—and watched her ageless face crease ever so slightly as she pouted. "I like the excitement of life," she said. "I know I see things differently than others. I refuse to believe Nargles and Blibbering Humdingers are make-believe."

I frowned. "Luna…you're an adult."

"Yes. You are one, as well."

"There are… There are some things you just… _know_ when you grow up."

"Of course." She said it, but her eyes wavered, and I got the feeling she was pleading silently with me not to say any more.

I looked away, my eyes refocusing on the cake. "Certain things don't—"

"Luna." Rolf cut me off as he leaned against the kitchen doorframe. He straightened. "Can I have a word?" He turned and marched down the hallway. Luna glanced at me before following him.

All the prior times I'd come here, I'd felt like family. Yet, tonight, I felt like an outsider. I was considering leaving without a word when someone else's words caught my ear. Knowing it would probably be considered eavesdropping, I took a cue from Lorcan and peeked around the doorway. I could glimpse them near the corner of the opposite end of the hallway.

Rolf waved his arms up and down. "…could you? Lune, I fell in love with your antics when we were younger. But that was then— _this_ is _now_. Physically, you've grown up. But mentally?" He pinched the bridge of his nose…which I was beginning to itch to hit.

"Without imagination, we are nothing," she stated, her voice shaking. She stared into her husband's blue eyes.

He searched her eyes before sighing. "Godric, Luna… I can't even get angry at you anymore… Wizarding naturalists—what was I thinking? I—I _encouraged_ this kind of behavior!"

Luna frowned. "Rolf, it's not a bad thing—" She tried to touch his arm, but—but the bastard swatted her hand away!

"Luna… Luna, Luna, _Luna_!" He met her eyes again. "I can't get angry at you anymore, not while I spend all my energy being sad, and d-disappointed in you." He sighed again, and some of his scraggly red hair fell over his shoulder, having come free of the strip of dragon-hide leather he used to tie all of it back. What I noticed was that the free piece…was graying. "I need to get some air," Rolf said abruptly. He grabbed his cloak from nearby and put it on, then marched my way towards the door. I ducked, but he didn't see me. He took his broom from inside the door before heading out. After that, the house was fairly quiet.

I exited the kitchen and walked into the living room, in shock and staring at the door. Rolf had just—just _left_. He never left! Where Luna was, erm, flighty, Rolf was a rock— _her_ rock. They were— I paused in my thoughts, understanding. No wonder Luna was off tonight. This hadn't been the first argument like this.

Luna entered the room behind me. "Well, Scorpius, it's been lovely seeing you again. May I get your jacket for you?"

I fisted my hands, a muscle in my jaw twitching so my jaw was clenched. Suddenly, I turned on my heel. "Luna, are you hungry for dessert?"

She stared at me. "Scorpius?"

I grabbed her hand and tugged her behind me. We reentered the kitchen, and I strode right up to the cake and swiped some of the icing with my finger. I tasted a little bit of it and— "This is delicious," I commented truthfully, surprised and turning back to her. "This has to be the best dessert I've ever tried."

"Scor, I—what?" I'd never seen it before, but there was Luna's confused face.

I got a little more on my thumb and drew her close to me. "Really," I mumbled with a small, encouraging smile. "Try it."

Color dusted the apples of her cheeks, but the lovely blonde witch before me licked the icing from my thumb. Relief seemed to flood her being as she gave in and leaned into my light embrace.

It…it was amazing to hold her. I felt as though I'd never felt such warmth before. Gently, we slid against the wall onto the floor so I was holding her partially curled-up form. Her breathing was even, steady, but I knew things weren't wholly right. "Hey…Lulu," I whispered tentatively. Never would I have thought I'd be giving her such an endearing nickname.

"Hmm?"

"Certain things…do exist." I stared at the glowing blue cake until she raised her head, her eyes shining; they almost glowed the same silvery-blue. "I shouldn't have tried to say otherwise." I licked the remaining icing from my fingers and grinned. "I think I can even see a Blibbering Humdinger dancing near the cake!"

I fretted when tears started running down her cheeks, but Luna was smiling again. And this was the real smile, the _Luna_ smile. "Scorpius, do you see eye to eye with me?"

"Well, we _are_ staring at each other," I quipped, and she timidly caught my chuckle in her mouth as soft lips touched mine. I tasted sugary icing, Luna, and faerie dust—and I knew that Rolf had given up on something that was one-of-a-kind.

**Author's Note:**

> :3 This is a very interesting oneshot… Scorpius didn't have to go back on his words; Luna didn't have to be so Luna; Rolf didn't have to act so deflated and walk away… So this is rather open-ended. Still, it kind of works as a oneshot.
> 
> Thanks for reading, and please review!
> 
> -mew-tsubaki :D
> 
> 2017 note: Hmm. Another one where I like the potential, but I confess the pace is a tad too fast for my liking…hmm.


End file.
